Merry Pranksters of the New Economy

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RTMark's first line of defense is surely familiar to their targets out there in the global economy. In 1997, amidst the national frenzy over e-business start-ups, RTMark launched a public offering of its own, emerging as an official corporation, complete with a sleek new Web site. As Guerrero explains, the group wanted not only to hold up a funhouse mirror to the profit-driven world they hope to disrupt, but also to use their new corporate status as legal protection. The strategy was to 'provide a corporate umbrella' for its projects, Guerrero says, while 'absorbing some of the liability and displacing it from the workers and the funders.' (Like the names of other RTMark principals, 'Guerrero' is a pseudonym.)

If media attention is both the tool and the litmus test of the successful theatrical prank, then, by all appearances, RTMark is doing well. The 'cultural dividends' produced by the group's projects may be more symbolic than actual, but don't let that fact distract from the seriousness of the organization's mission or the importance of comedic, satirical actions as part of a larger social movement.

RTMark 'complements what might be considered the more respectable traditions of the new left,' says Guerrero. If, as many have said, the current wave of protests against corporate greed is a renaissance of '60s activism, then RTMark may be the Abbie Hoffman of our digital era.

Discuss media activism at the Media conference in Cafe Utne: cafe.utne.com

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